Eternal Thief

Ace summoned Cyrus because he had a feeling that Cyrus might not trigger any heavenly tribulation. Nonetheless, he was ready to send him away if he sensed something because he couldn't afford to draw any attention to himself.

However, if nothing happened, then this means he would have a powerful trump card that wasn't restricted like him, and he wouldn't have to be so passive.

"Oh… where are we, big bro?" Cyrus asked curiously and with a hint of excitement as he observed the stone chamber. He'd been in the thief's space for quite some time now, so getting out made the little guy quite excited, especially when he thought Ace was taking him on food-hunting.

Ace didn't reply and warily felt his surroundings. When nothing out of the ordinary happened, he sighed in relief, and his eyes shimmered with elation. This meant he didn't have to worry about Cyrus triggering any supernatural phenomena.

At this moment, Cyrus suddenly says something astounding to Ace, "This place is strange. The air is heavy, and a new, more delicious thing is in the air, and I like it a lot in here!"

Ace's raised an eyebrow and asked, "What do you mean, little glutton?"

"Stupid, big bro. I mean, I like it here a lot!" Cyrus exclaimed while looking at Ace as if he were an idiot.

"How brave, now you're even calling me stupid?"

Ace narrowed his eyes, making the little guy quickly rub his tiny head with his cheek in affection, "I-I… I forgot what I said, and I've missed you a lot!"

Ace was even more surprised to see the little guy trying to butter him up. "Where do you learn to talk like that?"

"Hehe~ I'm an adult, and adult talk like this!" He proudly declared.

"No, they don't, and I've missed you as well." Ace chuckled as he couldn't be mad at the little sycophant, and he seriously questioned, "Well, I can understand you can't explain. Just tell me if you can use your power to burn others who try to harm us."

"Of course! Who do you want to burn?" Cyrus quickly asked in excitement; apparently, burning things was his favorite activity.

"Hah, I'll take it as a yes." Ace chuckled as he was reassured now.

"Alright." Cyrus also nodded seriously as if he understood what Ace was saying before a glint of excitement flashed past his eyes, "Big bro! I can feel this delicious air becoming more delicious in this direction! Let's go there!"

Ace looked at where Cyrus had just pointed with his little wing, and he was surprised to see that Cyrus was pointing in the direction of the crack where Kai had entered this place.

'Could it be he's talking about these Spirit Stones?' Ace mused.

After thinking for a moment, he decided to leave this place instead of waiting for the system to finish its upgrade.

After all, now that he could use the Twilight Qi and Cyrus was also here, he didn't have to be afraid of the miners. As long as he didn't encounter those overseers, no one was his match. Not to mention, he was also curious about those spirit stones.

Ace then made his way towards the crack and slowly walked towards the opening. When he was close to the other end, he saw dimmed light, but there wasn't any noise; it was completely silent.

'He does say that he was the only one in this section of the mine…' Ace remembered Kai's words.

Once Ace and Cyrus emerged from the crack, they appeared in the large tunnel, and he was surprised to see glowing green crystals growing out of the walls.

'Are those the spirit stones?' Ace wondered as he looked at those crystals. Now that he was in this place, he finally felt foreign Qi in the air, and his body and mind suddenly felt refreshed.

"Food!" Cyrus instantly cried in elation as his eyes were affixed to those crystals.

This little comment was enough for Ace to confirmed his conjecture and he walked towards the closet crystal while the other section of was seemed to be sealed by stones, they fell when Kai discovered the path that leads to where he found Ace.

Ace touched the glowing crystal, and it felt warm. Then he tried to pull it using only his physical prowess.

'Crack…'

With a small crack, it easily came out from the wall, leaving behind a grave, and Ace was surprised a little.

'Didn't he say it required Qi to mine them, but I easily pulled it out?'

Ace gripped the egg-size spirit stone and frowned, 'I can feel that foreign Qi, which should be the Spirit Qi, but I can't absorb it into my body. Maybe the same rule as the Qi Stones applies here as well. I need to convert it first…'

"Give me!" Cyrus suddenly said, his eyes filled with hunger.

Since Ace couldn't use it, he decided to give it to Cyrus and see what he would do with it.

The moment Cyrus watched Ace's gesture, he quickly opened his little beak, and a powerful suction force suddenly enveloped the spirit stone in Ace's hand. The next moment, a green mist suddenly started to emit from the Spirit Stone and then flowed into Cyrus's mouth.

After a second, there was no mist, and the glowing crystal lost its luster. The next moment, it turned into dust right in Ace's hand.

'That's it?' Ace wondered as he looked at Cyrus, who seemed to relish whatever he had just absorbed.

"It's not enough," Cyrus suddenly muttered.

Atthis moment, the little guy's body suddenly jolted, and he instantly turned around with agitation.

"What is it?" Ace became alert as this action was quite strange.

Cyrus looked at the blocked section of the tunnel and said, "Now I can feel something even more delicious in that direction. How strange!"

Ace also looked towards the blocked section and then at Cyrus with a serious look because he knew that Cyrus was quite proficient when it came to finding treasures, and he had never been wrong before.

Ace instantly made his decision, "Then let's go in this direction!"